Hello All! I have a question for users of Amla oil or Vatika oil. I just started using both oils. Vatika smelled bad and the amla oil smelled HORRIBLE. It was so bad, but it made my hair so shiny. I cannot go out the house with my hair smelling like that. I think it smells like a nursing home/hospital. I have Dabur brand, I heard another brand might smell a little better. So for you Amla users, What do you do to tone down the smell?

The first time I used it, I left it in overnight and the next day I co-washed it. The smell was still there. I might have needed to shampoo it out. It did leave my hair very, very shiny though which I liked. I have to find another method because I have seen people have great results using Amla and Vatika oil.

3C/4A Hair. My BC was Sept. 2003. Its been 5 years and I'm always looking for suggestions and tips. :-)

i remember the one & only time i wore amla all day out in public. i was told w/ a swiftness i stank. i promptly ran over to my gym and shampooed till it was all gone. haven't used it since. the smell is awful. i dave dabur too. i've heard some folks mix it w/ essential oils or dilute it. i'm gonna try amla light next time. i wish i did have a suggestion for the smell. sorry.

i don't think those hair oils are supposed to be used as leave-in conditioners. i think you are supposed to do a deep conditioning with them, applying them to dry hair or freshly washed hair. you can leave the oil in for a couple of hours or overnight before shampooing it out.

Thank you for your replies and tips. I will definitely try to dilute it or add some oils- I probably have to add a whole lot to get it at least smelling decent lol. Whatever it takes. I just cant get over the smell and I don't want to give up after that one time.

3C/4A Hair. My BC was Sept. 2003. Its been 5 years and I'm always looking for suggestions and tips. :-)

I've been using Vatika oil by Dabur for 2 Months. It has been making my hair grow. It does not smell bad to me but I mix 2 or 3 drops in my conditioner. The directions say use regularly and for best results leave it on overnight. I co-wash every 3 days, so that's when it gets washed out.

OK I just found this on another site:
Apparently there are two types of Vatika: one regular and one of "export quality". The first bottle I got was small- the export quality. It smelled a bit "Indian" to me, but the results were great! So I replenished with the larger bottle. It smelled way better, like coconut. However, it was much heavier and I didn't feel yeilded the same results. When I compared bottles, that is when I noticed the difference. The ingredients are the same, but I imagine the quality of ingredients used (and perhaps the concentrations) is what makes the difference. I stick with the small export quality size now and prefer it if it smells "Indian".

I've been using Vatika oil by Dabur for 2 Months. It has been making my hair grow. It does not smell bad to me but I mix 2 or 3 drops in my conditioner. The directions say use regularly and for best results leave it on overnight. I co-wash every 3 days, so that's when it gets washed out.

OK I just found this on another site:
Apparently there are two types of Vatika: one regular and one of "export quality". The first bottle I got was small- the export quality. It smelled a bit "Indian" to me, but the results were great! So I replenished with the larger bottle. It smelled way better, like coconut. However, it was much heavier and I didn't feel yeilded the same results. When I compared bottles, that is when I noticed the difference. The ingredients are the same, but I imagine the quality of ingredients used (and perhaps the concentrations) is what makes the difference. I stick with the small export quality size now and prefer it if it smells "Indian".

Originally Posted by 1Joy

thanks!! where do you get it? nevermind i did a search...

so is the vatika better than the plain amla?? i want hair growth!!

a dreamy piscesplease recycle, it matters...i change lives...through fitnessi'm more relaxed being natural

Go with the Vatika hands down! I noticed a change in growth after only 2 wks of using it and its still growing. I put 2 dollops of conditioner in my hair on my 2 co-wash days/wk and I put 2 or 3 drops in each dollop. I added 5 or 6 drops in my spray water bottle and I use that on all the other days, so I am getting it in my hair daily. Let me know how it works for you if you try it. Also I noticed it is waaaayyy cheaper at an indian store than online. I saw one online for $25.

Go with the Vatika hands down! I noticed a change in growth after only 2 wks of using it and its still growing. I put 2 dollops of conditioner in my hair on my 2 co-wash days/wk and I put 2 or 3 drops in each dollop. I added 5 or 6 drops in my spray water bottle and I use that on all the other days, so I am getting it in my hair daily. Let me know how it works for you if you try it. Also I noticed it is waaaayyy cheaper at an indian store than online. I saw one online for $25.

Originally Posted by 1Joy

an indian store...hmm where do i find one of those i wonder...how much should i expect to pay for it??

a dreamy piscesplease recycle, it matters...i change lives...through fitnessi'm more relaxed being natural

They are 1.99 for the small bottle and 3.99 for the bigger one. Someone on another site said,"It's like a hidden jewel without the big pricetag". You can put local indian stores or markets in your city in google. Or you can put local henna (eventhough its not henna) and your city in google since that may cause the stores to pop up.

got my vatika! so it seems to be mostly coconut oil with some other stuff. i think mine is indian. it has indian writing on it and does have a slight scent.

are you using it nightly. i would love to have some extra hair growth. i don't know how effective it would be putting it just a little bit in my conditioner. my hair is thick so i use a lot of conditioner and it might get diluted.

a dreamy piscesplease recycle, it matters...i change lives...through fitnessi'm more relaxed being natural

I think they tell you to put it on at night if you plan to wash it out the next day. I put mine in in the morning 5x/wk with my cond. If you want to put your cond in 1st you can and just seal it with the Vatika.

I think they tell you to put it on at night if you plan to wash it out the next day. I put mine in in the morning 5x/wk with my cond. If you want to put your cond in 1st you can and just seal it with the Vatika.

Originally Posted by 1Joy

thanks girl! i would love some good growth by spring/summer...one thing i've been doing while my hair is damp in the mornings is applying a jojoba/castor oil mix to my scalp and massaging it in....i think that is helping with growth too.

a dreamy piscesplease recycle, it matters...i change lives...through fitnessi'm more relaxed being natural

I haven't tried to Amla oil yet but I'm a huge fan of Vatika and I use it to "seal" my leave in conditioner. I apply on damp hair and I find that once my hair dries the stinkiness of it fades away. I know it sounds goofy but I'm actually starting to like the smell...lol

I have the Vatika oil and it stinks, to me it smells like stale beer!! I have to shampoo my hair to get the smell out of it, so have only used it on very rare occasions. My hair loves coconut oil tho, and as Superdrug (UK) have stopped doing jars of pure coconut oil its the only coconut oil I have at the moment, so I've just started using it again. I'm in fact sitting here at work with my hair full of it and smelling like a driptray!! No one has mentioned it tho

As a person of south east asian descent, I am finding these particular posts quite offensive, specifically in regards to the 'indian' smell comments, not to mention 'stinkiness' etc. I thought this forum and this site was about accepting oneself and others as who we are. Vatika is made from the goodness of henna, lemon and coconut oil so that is what the smell is reminiscent, nothing more, nothing less and as for dabur amla, its simply mineral oil masquerading as indian gooseberry oil(amla) with a fake amla smell and colour. Every culture (african, caucasian, asian) has its particular traits and one of them is 'smell', which emanates from what your ancestors have absorbed internally (diet) and externally (bathing/beauty rituals) and which continues on as a legacy in you as their descendant. I am aware of that and accept others wholly regardless of their smell, and believe me YOU ALL come with particular scents which are not always necessarily pleasing to the senses. If the smell of these products bothers you, perhaps simply refrain from using what has contributed to several miles of glorious, shiny, long indian hair.
Hopefully the moderator of these forums will see the oppressive side of the aforementioned posts and in the future will ask the members to modify their comments.

In respose to the above post, I am quite surpised to read something like this here... people are entitled to have their opinions on the products they use, and it is nothing to do with where a particular product is made. Someone's preferences on smell is something personal to them: one person may think roses smell wonderful whereas an another may think they "stink" and that is entirely up to them! This should never be taken as a personal insult, especially on a forum like this where all aspects of hair products are discussed.

I dislike the smell of the Vatika oil because it smells like beer in my opinion, and my not liking the smell of beer is nothing to do with anybody's ethnic origin.